| good qualities. 
ate, equable, and uninterrupted; for if we stop 
or relax in our exertions, the butter will go back, 
as it is called; and if the motion be too quick 
and violent, the butter will be soft and of a white 
colour, besides imbibing a very disagreeable fla- 
vour. This, in some districts of Scotland, is 
known by the phrase bursting the churn. Ma- 
chinery, as before observed, of an ingenious and 
convenient construction, is in some districts now 
employed, and found to have the advantage, not 
only of abridging labour, but of securing a more 
regular and uniform motion. 
When the operation is properly conducted, the 
butter, after some time, suddenly forms, and is 
to be carefully collected and separated from the 
buttermilk. But in doing this, it is not suffi- 
cient merely to pour off this milk, or withdraw 
the butter from it; because a certain portion of 
the caseous and serous parts of the milk still re- 
main in the interstices of the butter, and must 
be detached from it by washing, if we would ob- 
tain it pure. In washing butter, some think it 
sufficient to press the mass gently betwixt the 
hands; others press it strongly and frequently, 
repeating the washings till the water come off 
quite clear. The first method is preferable when 
the butter is made daily for immediate use, from 
new milk or cream ; because the portions of such 
adhering to it, or mixed with it, contribute to 
produce the sweet agreeable flavour which distin- 
guishes new cream. But when our object is to 
prepare butter for keeping, we cannot repeat the 
| washings too often, since the presence of a small 
| quantity of milk in it, will, in less than twelve 
hours after churning, cause it sensibly to lose its 
When the butter is very soft, 
especially in hot weather, it should be allowed 
to lie during ten or twelve minutes in the cold 
| water, to acquire better consistency before be- 
ing washed. The process of washing butter is 
usually nothing more than throwing it into an 
earthen vessel of clear cool water, working it 
to and fro with the hands, and changing the wa- 
ter till it come off clear. A much preferable 
method, however, and that which we believe is 
now always practised by those who best under- 
stand the business, is, to use two broad pieces of 
wood instead of the hands. This is to be pre- 
ferred, not only on account of its apparently 
greater cleanliness, but also because it is of de- 
cided advantage to the quality of the butter. 
To this the warmth of the hand gives always 
more or less of a greasy appearance; and butter 
washed by means of the wooden flappers, as they 
are called, will always fetch at market a higher 
price than if the hand had been employed. The 
influence of the heat of the hand is greater than 
might at first have been suspected. It has al- 
ways been remarked, that a person who has na- 
turally a warm hand, never makes good butter. 
After washing, the butter should be cut and 
sliced in every possible direction, with a serrated 
or rough-edged knife, in order to bring out from 
BUTTER. 
it the smallest hair, bit of rag, strainer, or any- 
thing that may have chanced to fall into it. It 
is then to be spread in a bowl, and such a quan- 
tity of salt-added as may be judged proper. If 
the butter is to be used immediately, or kept 
only for a short time, a small proportion will be 
sufficient ; and in this state it is usually denomi- 
nated fresh butter. But if it be intended to be 
long kept, or transported to a distance, an ounce 
or two of salt will be required to the pound of 
butter. The salt used in curing butter should 
be of the purest kind, well dried, and broken 
down, but not completely pulverized; and it 
must be so thoroughly worked in, as to be equally 
incorporated with the mass. See the article 
Darry. 
When butter is to be sold on the spot, or in 
the neighbouring markets, it is divided into rolls 
of a pound, or half a pound; or. into lumps of 
24 ounces, called dishes in some parts of Eng- 
land; but when it is to be kept, or carried to a 
distance, quantities of 84, 56, or 28 pounds, are 
put up together in casks, usually called tubs, fir- 
kins, and half-firkins. 
When the butter has been sufficiently impreg- 
nated with the salt, by being spread out in thin 
layers, sprinkled with it, and thoroughly wrought, 
it is then to be gently pressed into the tub or 
firkin, which must not, however, be filled quite 
up, but room left at top to receive a layer of salt, 
half an inch or an inch in thickness. In seven 
or eight days, the salted butter detaches itself 
from the sides of the firkin, shrinks, and occa- 
sions interstices. These, if allowed to remain, 
would injure the butter, by admitting the con- 
tact of the air. They are, therefore, to be filled 
up by a saturated solution of salt in water, or 
brine strong enough to carry an egg. The but- 
ter is then to be covered by a new layer of salt, 
and the head of the vessel put on. Before the 
butter is put into the firkin, care must be taken, 
that the latter—which, if new, should be of clean 
white wood, and carefully washed inside with 
hot brine—be well seasoned: and this is effected 
by exposing it for two or three weeks to the air, 
and frequent washing. The readiest method, 
however, is by the use of unslaked lime, or a 
large quantity of salt and water well boiled, 
with which it should be scrubbed several times, 
and afterwards thrown into cold water, to remain 
three or four days till wanted. It should then 
be scrubbed as before, and well rinsed with cold 
water ; and before receiving the butter, every 
part of the inside of the firkin must be carefully 
rubbed with salt. Indeed, the surest of all me- 
thods to preserve butter from spoiling, after it 
has been properly salted, is to keep it constantly 
immersed in a saturated solution of this sub- 
stance. An excellent composition for preserving 
butter may be prepared, by mixing one part of 
saltpetre, one of common salt, and two of sugar. 
{ 
This thoroughly wrought into the butter, will 
keep it sweet for a very long time, and com- 
